New Art Book Explores Fiendish Art from Fantasy Master Tom Baxa

CvrDark fantasy art fans and gamers alike will rejoice at today’s release of veteran fantasy illustrator Tom Baxa’s new art book Blood Rituals: The Art of Tom Baxa. Baxa’s art for notable games likeDungeons and DragonsMagic: The GatheringWorld of Warcraft tcg, DarksunL5RShadowrun, miniatures and more has been in high demand for years, and is available now for the first time in this one comprehensive collection.

Said longtime Tom Baxa fan and veteran illustrator Dave Dorman, “Tom’s characters step right out of your most horrific fantasy nightmares with exquisite detail. For gaming and horror fans, this isthe art book to buy this month.”

Tom Baxa’s paintings are known for their energetic and dramatic feel; his characters crackle with an in-your-face threat that is both menacing and captivating at the same time.  His confident brushstrokes, painterly approach, and rich color sense imbue each painting with life.

Blood Rituals: The Art of Tom Baxa highlights this master illustrator’s work and shows an impressive and inspiring range of inventiveness.  His creature designs are intriguing and spark the imagination, compelling viewers to ponder the character’s culture, influences, and all too often, tortured lives.  Gruesome monsters with gnarled flesh are ripped and scarred until any semblance of normalcy is eradicated and a new form of wretchedness is unleashed. Baxa’s range shines through with additional sections on his Wicked Fairies® characters, his short stories, sketches and evocative personal work.

Blood Rituals: The Art of Tom Baxa is available through Diamond Distributors at comic and game shops everywhere, or by contacting the Comic Shop Locator Service at 1-888-266- 4226 or www.comicshoplocator.com.  Blood Rituals is on page 352 of Previews May 2012; Diamond item code is MAY121402. Marketing artwork for this book is available upon request.

About Thomas M. Baxa
Thomas M. Baxa has been illustrating fantasy creatures that haunt the imagination for over 24 years in game industry where he has contributed to countless games including Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowrun, Vampire, Magic the Gathering, and World of Warcraft tcg. He is a highly sought after illustrator and concept artist, designing characters for games, books, miniatures, video games, and film, while developing his own properties and managing his website www.BaxaArt.com.

Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair Digital Comics No. 4-6 Now on App Store

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zuuka Comics, developer of the Cut The Rope digital comic engine, announced today the launch of Issues No. 4-6 of Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair Comic series. Based on the original classic arcade game released in 1983, the first-ever digital release of Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair Comic is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store.

* In Issue No. 4, Dirk the Daring has one day left to save Princess Daphne from the clutches of the the deadly dragon Singe and while there may not be snakes, hydras and zombies, there’s pits of boiling lava standing in his way. Oh, and threatening mud men too.

* Issue No. 5 sees Dirk going further into the Dark Kingdom, making it almost impossible for Halvern and Leraene to track him. And with the duo finally loosing complete sight of him, Dirk’s adventures are only beginning… including trying to make it past a flaming pit of fire and clever little goons who want nothing more than for Dirk to fall into the flames.

* Unearthing a giant cavern full of gold, Issue No. 6 has Dirk praising the saints until he notices the deadly dragon and captured Princess Daphne. Will Dirk free the princess from the evil dragon or tempt fait too far and meet his doom? Lead on, adventurer… your quest awaits.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* 31.5 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair Comic App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Issue No. 1 is free, and issues No. 2-6 are available for $1.99 each through In-App Purchase.

About zuuka:


zuuka publishes zuuka Comics, iTalk and iStoryTime – an interactive storytelling experience delivered to the convenience of your mobile device – which features a series of illustrated and narrated books created by parents for kids. iStoryTime books have been highlighted in the New York Times, LA Times, CBS Early Show, theiPhoneMom, CNET and is decorated with Publisher’s Innovation Award, PTPA Media’s Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval, the Children’s Technology Review’s Editor’s Choice Award and Reader’s Choice for Best Apps for Kids. With over 100 titles to choose from including favorites such as Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Peter Pan and Binky the Pink Elephant, iStoryTime books are an excellent tool for both educating and entertaining children ages two years and up. These storybooks can be enjoyed in several different modes ranging from automatic to manual, depending upon the development and preferences of the user. Copyright (C) 2012 zuuka. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

New Prices for Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL Make Them Even Better Values

Two of Nintendo’s top-selling video game systems are getting attractive new prices. Effective May 20, the suggested retail price for the larger Nintendo DSi XL will be $129.99 and the suggested retail price for Nintendo DSi will be $99.99.

Both the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems come pre-loaded with a variety of fun software, including Flipnote Studio, Nintendo DSi Camera and Nintendo DSi Sound. Nintendo DSi XL comes with additional pre-installed games and applications, including Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock.

The Nintendo DS family has more than 2,000 different packaged and downloadable games for veteran and new players of all tastes. These include timeless Mario games like New Super Mario Bros. and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, puzzling adventures like Professor Layton and the Last Specter and Dr. Mario Express, fun software like Photo Dojo and Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, the gray matter-stimulating Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!and Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! and upcoming games like Pokémon Conquest, which is available June 18.

The new suggested retail prices provide an even greater incentive to pick up the systems, and provide an easy option for parents who want to introduce younger kids to their first portable games.

With graduations looming, Father’s Day approaching and the start of the summer travel season imminent, the new suggested retail prices appeal to all kinds of shoppers.

For more information about Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL, visit http://www.nintendo.com/ds.

Two New Series Debut from BOOM!

From BOOM!

Hello BOOM!ers,

This is a BIG week here at BOOM! Studios with lots of great titles releasing including two much talked about debut series HIGHER EARTH #1, and GARFIELD #1. So head down to your local comic shop this wednesday and ask for these books by name!

$1.00
Writer(s): Sam Humphries
Artist(s): Francesco Biagini
YOU ARE ILLEGAL ON THIS EARTH 

Space is dead. Why conquer other planets when there’s a perfectly good Earth in the universe next door?

Heidi, a girl born in garbage. Rex, a soldier gone rogue. The only thing between them and their destiny is an empire of a hundred different Earths, across a hundred alternate timelines. One majestic planet dominates them all: HIGHER EARTH.

Created and written by Sam Humphries (SACRIFICE, MARVEL’S JOHN CARTER: GODS OF MARS, FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES) HIGHER EARTH is his sci-fi follow up to last year’s surprise hit OUR LOVE IS REAL — a fast-paced epic of infinite possibilities featuring arresting art by Francesco Biagini (ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST, DINGO).

$3.99
Writer(s): Mark Evanier
Artist(s): Gary Barker
This May, everyone’s favorite lasagna-scarfing cat opens the fridge to an all-new ongoing comic book series! Join Garfield as he begins his monthly exploits with Jon, Odie, and the rest of the gang in the latest all-ages must-read from KaBOOM! THE GARFIELD SHOW writer and comics luminary Mark Evanier teams up with beloved Garfield strip cartoonist Gary Barker to bring you all the laughs (and lasagna) you can handle. With brand new stories featuring everyone’s favorite feline, this debut #1 issue is sure to please Garfield fans new and old alike! Don’t forget to ask your retailer about the rare “Superhero” variant and the extremely rare “Garfield First Appearance” variant!

Arcana Presents Arcanaverse.com and FCBD 2012

Just in time for Free Comic Book Day and our crossover event, Intrinsic, Arcana is pleased to announce Arcanaverse.com!

Arcanaverse.com is the home for our ever-growing library of characters. Featuring stunning artwork, both pulled from the pages of books and original artwork from Arcana artists, character biographies, first appearances, and more, Arcanaverse.com brings Arcana’s characters to life in a new and exciting way!

From the main page of Arcanaverse.com, you can see just how many characters are represented on the site… and it’s just the beginning. We are adding new characters, artwork, and biographies, written by Arcana creators and staff, regularly, so keep checking back for new content.

When you’re finished reading Intrinsic on Free Comic Book Day, be sure to head over to Arcanaverse.com to learn about characters from the book!

Changes at USFG

We’ve had some staffing changes recently. What does that mean for USFG? Well, it means we will have fewer reviews, interviews and coverage of events for a while.

We will still have some guest bloggers on occasion and I am actively seeking friends who would like to step up their involvement. I’m also looking at making some changes in my life that will allow me to have more time to invest in making USFG more robust and useful to the readers and the projects we help promote. Hopefully this will be a temporary setback and things will be back on track by this fall.

While new content has slowed down, our monthly visits have continued to grow so thank you for continuing to visit! Thank you for your patience while we grow through some changes.

Mister French Taste Episode 1 – The Job Interview

Finding the appropriate person to teach the rich and spoiled Leon Wong manners and proper social behavior is not as easy as it seems. Have a peek at some of the colorful competition that Mr. French beat out for the lucrative job!

Mister French Taste is an etiquette coach who is faced with the challenge of a lifetime: transforming the unruly Leon, the only son of a conservative Hong Kong family and a constant source of scandals and shame into a perfectly groomed gentleman while at the same time, trying to steal the heart of Lily, the beautiful young heiress to a Hong Kong fashion empire, educated and smart, and fluent in the art of shopping. Watch Hong Kong and France collide in this hilarious comedy of manners!

Vancouver Indie Horror Feature Death Do Us Part launches Official Trailer


Nine Worlds Entertainment is pleased to announce that the official trailer for the upcoming Horror film Death Do Us Part premiered at the Vancouver Fan Expo and is now available online. To view the trailer and find out more about the film, visit the Death Do Us Part website at http://www.deathdouspartmovie.com/, on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/DeathDoUsPartTheMovie or on Twitter: @DDUPMovie

Death Do Us Part is about six friends who go to a remote cabin in the woods to celebrate a Jack and Jill bachelor party. Out in the middle of nowhere, things take a horrifying turn when members of the group are brutally picked off one by one. What starts out as a celebration quickly descends into a bloody nightmare. Friendships are ripped apart and accusations fly in this blood filled psychological horror with a whodunit twist.

Starring Julia Benson (Stargate Universe), Peter Benson (The Killing), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary), Christine Chatelain (Riese: Kingdom Falling), Kyle Cassie(Lost Boys: The Tribe), Benjamin Ayres (Vampire Diaries)Dave Collette (Level Up), and Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica).

Death Do Us Part was written and produced by Peter Benson (Kits), Julia Benson(Kits) and Ryan Copple (Riese: Kingdom Falling) and directed by Nicholas Humphries (Riese: Kingdom Falling and Screamfest LA 2011 Winner for Best Short,The Little Mermaid).

About Nine Worlds Entertainment

Founded in January 2011 by Peter Benson, Julia Benson and Ryan Copple, Nine Worlds Entertainment is a Vancouver based Production Company with many projects in various stages of development. Currently they are working with BBC Worldwide Productions on a half hour comedy series. The team at Nine Worlds has also been working with Aircraft Pictures and Dolphin Entertainment on a children’s comedy series as well as a sci-fi action series. The company is focusing on creating and producing content that is relevant and commercially viable both domestically and internationally.

“The industry is changing and more than ever it’s imperative that we generate our own work. This was the driving force behind the making of Death Do Us Part. We have such an amazing film community in Vancouver and everyone came together to create what we feel is a pretty fun ride. We’re very excited to be sharing the beginnings of all our hard work.” – Julia Benson

A Little Bit Zombie – Official Trailer

From http://www.alittlebitzombie.com/:

Infected by a virus during his bachelor party, a mild mannered HR manager attempts to fulfill his overwhelming desire for brains and avoid Max, the obsessed Zombie Hunter hot on his trail. All while keeping it together so as not to incur the wrath of his Bridezilla-to-be.

 

A Litte Bit Zombie is what creators Trevor Martin and Christopher Bond call “A Rom-Zom-Comedy”. Christopher Bond also helped create a little show you may have heard of (or seen) called Evil Dead: The Musical. Taking another step into the world of the undead, A Little Bit Zombie is the misadventures of a soon-to-be groom who gets bitten by a disease carrying Mosquito and ends up zombified right before his big day. As he and his bride to be are trying to adjust to this little change in their lifestyle, a zombie hunting team shows up to muck things up worse.

In addition to Tactical BaconA Little Bit Zombie also features Kristopher Turner (Without A Paddle: Nature’s Calling, L.A. Complex), Crystal Lowe (Smallville, Hot Tub Time Machine), Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief), Kristen Hager (Being Human US, Manson My Name is Evil), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary, Arctic Air), Stephen McHattie (Haven, XIII), and is directed by Casey Walker.

Death Do Us Part Official Trailer

http://www.deathdouspartmovie.com/

Kennedy Jamieson, a wealthy socialite, has waited her whole life to have the perfect wedding. Engaged to the charming Ryan Harris, the young couple is just a week away from the big day but hasn’t had a chance to celebrate their respective bachelor/bachelorette parties. Ryan’s best man Chet books a remote cabin in the woods to throw them a ‘Jack and Jill’ stag that they’ll never forget. Out in the middle of nowhere, things take a horrifying turn as members of the group are brutally picked off one by one. What started out as a celebration quickly descends into a bloody nightmare. Friendships are ripped apart and accusations fly in this blood filled psychological horror with a whodunit twist.

Staring Julia Benson (Stargate Universe), Peter Benson (jPod), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary), Christine Chatelain (Riese), Kyle Cassie (True Justice), Benjamin Ayres (jPod), Dave Collette (Fringe), Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica), Viv Leacock (White Collar Poets); Written by Julia Benson, Peter Benson and Ryan Copple (Riese); Directd by Nicholas Humphries (Riese).